Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of wire guided fluid catheter assemblies.
2. Background Art
In conventional wire guided fluid catheter assemblies intended for insertion into a vascular system of a patient, such as into blood vessels, the tubular catheter body has at least one lumen provided for the passage of a guidewire. This guidewire lumen usually passes either through the main lumen of the catheter or along the outer surface of the main catheter body. Where the guidewire lumen passes through the main lumen of the catheter, the guidewire lumen occupies space within the catheter body that would otherwise be available for the flow of fluid, thereby reducing the fluid flow capacity of a given diameter catheter body. Put differently, a catheter assembly having a given fluid flow capacity must have a larger diameter catheter body, because of the presence of the guidewire lumen.
Similarly, where the guidewire lumen is positioned along the outer surface of the main catheter body, the presence of the guidewire lumen reduces the space available for the fluid lumen, in a catheter assembly having a given overall diameter. Said differently, the outer diameter of a catheter assembly having a given fluid flow capacity is increased by the presence of the guidewire lumen on the outer surface of the catheter body.
In either case, either the fluid flow capacity of the catheter assembly is reduced, or the minimum size blood vessel in which the catheter assembly can be used is increased, thereby limiting its usefulness.
It would be beneficial to have a catheter assembly in which the guidewire lumen does not reduce or limit the available space for the fluid lumen, and which does not add to the overall diameter of the catheter assembly. Such an assembly would maximize the fluid flow capacity of a catheter sized for insertion into any given size blood vessel.
The present invention is a wire guided catheter assembly in which the guidewire lumen is adapted to collapse upon pressurization of the fluid lumen, thereby maximizing the size of the flow path available for fluid flow. The guidewire lumen is formed within the main catheter body, and within the fluid flow lumen. The entire catheter body can be used as a fluid flow lumen, or a separate fluid flow lumen may be established within a portion of the catheter body. In either case, the guidewire lumen is within the fluid flow lumen. In its expanded state, the guidewire lumen occupies a significant portion of the fluid flow lumen. In its collapsed state, the guidewire lumen occupies a very insignificant portion, or almost none, of the fluid flow lumen.
The novel features of this invention, as well as the invention itself, will be best understood from the attached drawings, taken along with the following description, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which: